Shopper s catalogue



H. B. ABEL. SHOPPERS CATALOGUE.

' APPLICATIONIFILED SEPT-21. 91s.

7 l 1 95,76 1 Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

(NI/E/VTOI? f7 5. 46 e! A 1701mm UNll HENRY B. ABEL, 0F VALLEY STREAM, NEW YORK.

SHOPPERS CATALOGUE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 22,1916.

Application filed September 21, 1915. Serial No. 51,751.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY'B. ABEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Valley Stream, in the county of Nassau and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Shoppefls Catalogue, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to catalogues and has particular reference to that kind of catalogues adapted for use by shoppers or those who having studied or consulted the catalogues at home may wish to inspect the goods where they are on sale preliminary to purchasing. According to the present practice, it is very common for a prospective purchaser, after having consulted the catalogue, to tear out a leaf or more of the catalogue to be carried along as a means for identifying the goods to which attention has been particularly called or in which the purchaser is most interested. According to this practice, catalogues irrespective of their beauty or cost of manufacture are soon destroyed with the result that, in addition to the unnecessary waste from the viewpoint of the dealer,

the catalogue loses its value as a reference book in the hands of the customer. Furthermore, even though a'leaf or more of the catalogue may be torn out to save the trouble of carrying lthe catalogue as a whole, such leaves are ofttimes troublesome. and inconvenient to carry or handle.

Among the objects of this invention, therefore, is to produce and supply to the trade, a catalogue having all of the advantages of catalogues heretofore known with respect to detail of illustration, descriptive matter, and price quotations, but in addition thereto to have miniature designs ,of the main illustrations arranged at any convenient place preferab y as a part of the same leaf as carries the main illustrations, such miniatures being adapted to be removed from the leaf and carried by the shopper, whereby the main catalogue leaves are retained in the book otherwise intact and suitable for repeated future reference, the miniatures serving every purpose, while shopping, of the main illustrations. It will be understood that the presentinvention has to do primarily with the main and miniature illustrations, and hence no efiort is made to cover the matter of printed description, prices, or similar information now commonlyused.

Another object of the invention is to so design or form the miniature designs that a number of them may be interlocked forming asort of booklet or group to be carried in the handbag, purse, or the like, for personal convenience and with slight danger of loss.

With the foregoing and other objects in v1ew,,tl 1e invention consists in the arrange ment and. combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while'the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a face view of a portion of a catalogue showing my invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are detail views of certain of the miniatures torn from a main leaf; and Fig. at indicates the manner of assembling a group of the miniatures.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, I show at 10 a fragment of a catalogue, the leaves of which as usual are designed to carry the main illustrations of commodities to be dispensed by the house issuing the catalogue. Of this catalogue 11 indicates' one complete page showing a group of designs numbered 12, 13, 1 1, and 15. As is well known, catalogues issued by high class business houses are manufactured or printed at an enormous expense, and the same in the hands of many of the patrons are preserved with care for repeated reference during the season. After the patron has consulted the catalogue at her home and is about to make a purchase, she removes from the main leaf a miniature cut or design corresponding to the main design carried by the catalogue in a permanent manner. This miniature may be carried with her on her shopping tour or mailed, if desired, from which the sales person may at a glance identify the particular article in which the customer is interested. The miniatures are preferably printed on a margin of the main sheet or page and are bounded by weakened lines so as to be easily removed. In the illustration given I show four miniatures 12, 13, 14:, and 15, corresponding to the main views, respectively.

The miniatures may assume various forms in outline, but each of them is provided preferably across its top with a weakened ,line 16, and I prefer that most of the miniatures be formed with shoulders 17 formed at the upper end of a narrower portion thereof. The length of the weakened line 16 corresponds substantially to the width of the narrower portion of the lower end of each miniature, and upon opening the weakened line a slot is made through which the narrower portion of any of the miniatures may he slipped preferably from the rear forwardly or downwardly, as shown in Fig. 4. In practice, the shopper having become interested in a number of different designs of the catalogue may remove all the miniatures pertaining thereto and assemble them in a. convenient group or booklet, using'preferably for this purpose a backer of rectangular form such as indicated at 15. This element may constitute a backer only or holder for the miniatures having narrow lower ends, but preferably I employ abacker made as a miniature. In the event that a group of miniatures is to be made up without including the-one of rectangular form, any other one of the miniatures may serve a like purpose by opening the slot 16 thereof.

I claim 2 1. A shoppers catalogue comprising a series of leaves, eachhaving an illustration in thenature of a group of main designs and also having associated with said main' designs a number of separate designs miniature relatlve to the main designs and practically identical in design with corresponding main designs, and having weakened bounding line or lines, the portion or portions of the leaves carrying the miniature designs being separable along said weakenedline or lines from the body of the leaf without impairing the integrity of the main designs, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

having a weakened line adapted to be opened to form a slot for, the reception of other miniature bearing parts, substantially as set forth.

3.. The hereindescribed shoppers catalogue' comprising leaves bearing main designs carried permanently thereby and also bearing a plurality of miniature designs corresponding to the main, designs, the leaf parts bearing the miniature designs being,

removable from the leaf part bearing the main designs, and one of the miniature bearing parts having a weakened line formed therein adapted to be opened to form a slot, said miniature bearing parts constituting abacker, and-other of the miniature bearing parts being formed of a width in the main parts corresponding substantially to the length of the said slot and having shoulders adapted to limit the movement of said main parts through said slot when a plurality of miniature bearing parts are assembled to form a group or booklet.

4. In a shoppers catalogue, a leaf bearing a plurality of main figures 'or designs and a plurality of miniatures corresponding to the main figures, the leaf parts bearing said miniatures each having one end broader than the other and formed with shoulders, and a backer member having a transverse weakened line which when opened forms a slot to receive the narrower ends of the miniature bearing parts aforesaid, the shoulders thereof being adapted to come into contact with the hacker at the ends of its slot, substantially as set forth.

. 5. In a device of the character set forth, a leaf bearing a plurality of different main designs, and a plurality of miniature designs and adapted to be torn apart, said miniature designs corresponding with the several main designs, and the leaf parts carrying the miniature designs being each provided with a slot extending transversely across its upper end'and adapted thereby to engage with other of said parts.

'6. A shoppers catalogue comprising leaveshaving a plurality of miniature designs each'having a comparatively narrow body, a head at one end wider than the body, shoulders connecting the head and narrow portion, and a slot formed along said head and of a length substantially equal to the width of the narrow body.

HENRYv B. ABEL. 

